Manderino Library Book Club--April 2008 Selection

"Jumping backward and forward in time, le Carre reveals the history of a friendship in the context of a lifetime of commitment gone sour: student radicalism in Berlin during the '60s; active spying for the West during the waning years of the cold war; and, finally, a parting of the ways, with Sasha continuing to search for the revolution of his dreams while Teddy finds a separate peace. But Iraq and a reunion with his friend reignite Teddy's fervor, paving the way for the inevitable tragedy. Yes, le Carre uses Teddy as a mouthpiece for some strong political opinions (the U.S. is described as a ‘hyperpower that thinks it can treat the rest of the world as its allotment’), but the novel never becomes the author's soapbox. The human story remains paramount, even if the chilling message is that human stories don't stand much of a chance in the world as we find it.” Ott, Bill. Booklist, 12/1/2003, p. 626.

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Fellow Readers:

The next meeting of the Manderino Library Book Club will be on Tuesday, April 22, 2008, at 7:00 p.m. We will meet in library classroom #208.

Dr. Michael Hummel, a Cal U Justice Studies professor, will lead our discussion on John le Carre’s Absolute Friends.

As always, give me a call if you have any questions.

Marsha L. Nolf
Public Services Coordinator/Associate Professor
Louis L. Manderino Library
California University of Pennsylvania
250 University Avenue
California, PA 15419
724.938.4048
nolf@cup.edu